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Salt Road Waggoneers in Ukrainian Oral Tradition by Helene Turkewicz-Sanko C. Vasyl’k ivs’kyi “R om odanivs’kyi Salt R o a d ”. Ukrainian Salt Waggoneers, the Chumaky, are mentioned in Ukrainian folksongs and choreographed in folk dances that depict their way of life. Through folksongs we learn that the Chumaky were on the road from early Spring to late Fall. Their caravans, or "val- kas," of ox-driven carts would invariably depart on a “Sunday, early in the morning.” The “valkas” could have as many as 100 carts, some of them pulled by two, four, six, or even ten Bessarabian oxen, strong animals highly desirable because of their endurance. These Bessarabian oxen enjoyed a great reputation. They were massive and gray; they had long curved horns. In the 1982 collection of Ukrainian folksongs, Lira Surma, Velykyi Zbirnyk Ukrains ’kykh Pisen ’, the section dedicated to Chumaky’s Songs contains 13 beautifully illustrated folk songs.1 Many of these can also be found in the 1983 collection of chumak songs in Filaret Kolessa’ Ukrainian Oral Literature 2 as well as in an article by Mykola Fedaka.3 Kolessa indicates that the Ukrainian national composer, Mykola Lysen ko, collected most of the songs in his anthology. The lonely chumak grave by the side of the road, somewhere in the vast steppe, is one of the most moving themes in many songs. One song, entitled “Lito” (“Summer”), is typical. A chumak is on the road from the Don Region to the Crimean Peninsula. On the way back, in the middle of nowhere, the salt driver becomes gravely ill. Near death, he begs his “Otamane-khazajine” to take pity on him, take off his coat (svytu) and cover him, and if he is to die, to have a coffin made of planks of the “klen” or maple tree. The song discloses that he never got his wish. He dies on a Sunday morning (v nedilju rano-vrantsi), and on Monday he is put to rest in a coffin made of simple pine (sosna) planks and not the “klen” planks he wanted. The term “otamane-khazajine” brings to mind the title given to a Cossack leader. This word appears in almost all sad chumak folksongs and reveals the strong relationship between the Cossacks and the chu maky. This relationship has been recently documented by Pierre Laszlo in his book, Salt: Grain of Life. Laszlo enlightens us on this subject, drawing his in formation from the travel account of Westphalian Baron August von Haxthausen, published in 1847. From the account it appears that the chumaky were indeed working for the Cossacks as hired hands.4 The Cossacks, in turn, protected the chumaky from thieves. This close relationship between chumaky and Cossacks is illustrated in the cartoon, How The Three Kozaks Went Shopping For Salt 5 In the cartoon, three brothers-in-arms (one tiny, one skinny and one mighty big) run out of salt. Their huge salt box, or salt cellar, “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 2003 11
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